«We closed 2022 with a consolidated turnover of 500 million euros, against 415 million in 2021 and we returned to profitability due to more endogenous than exogenous factors: the gross operating margin, which in 2021 was negative by five million, rose to 29 millions. There is still a long way to go, but we are collecting the first results of a work that has led us to rationalize part of the business and invest in the most promising ones». Alberto Racca, CEO of the Miroglio Group since 2019, is satisfied. In these three not easy years at a global level he has carried out a process of change for the Piedmontese group which has progressively abandoned the segment of printing on fabrics and spinning (in which it is still active , but in a limited way) to focus on clothing and accessories brands.
Product and customer relationship are the cornerstone of growth
Today it is present in 22 countries with 36 companies and 1,100 stores, two packaging plants (in Morocco and Turkey), one printing waterfree (Sublitex, in Alba) and a spinning mill in Tunisia. The most significant share of revenues, however, is due to Miroglio Fashion, the company which owns the Motivi, Elena Mirò, Fiorella Rubino, Diana Gallesi, Luisa Viola and Oltre brands. And it’s growing: in 2022 Miroglio Fashion recorded revenues of 369 million euros against 313 in the previous year. «We have chosen to establish an increasingly close relationship with our customers – explains Racca – who are also younger than in the past. Around some brands such as Fiorella Rubino we have created communities of fan customers, which have grown exponentially and with whom we dialogue every day».
The group, which over the years has invested heavily in retail by building a network of single-brand stores throughout Italy, thanks to Covid, has had to partially rethink it: «Our perimeter of stores, which currently number 800 in Italy, reflects the changes that have occurred in the company and in the country in recent years – continues Racca -. For example, we wanted to invest in digital technology understood as the possibility for the customer to move fluidly between different sales channels». The investments in the product continue: «We successfully launched the collection of Motivi bags. As far as the product is concerned, we focus on the concept of “value for use” to ensure a distinctive but transversal product suitable for a context of reduced purchasing power of customers and an unpredictable atmospheric climate. In 2023, moreover, we did not raise prices ».
Objectives: expansion abroad and return to pre-Covid revenues
Internationalization is also among Miroglio’s objectives: «We are entering Greece and the Balkans, but in general we have recorded excellent feedback in Eastern Europe, for example in Romania. Elena Mirò, who has a core of loyal customers but today offers garments with a more up-to-date style and for all sizes, is also doing very well in Southern Europe». Then there is the JV Aymi joint venture, born in 2008, when Miroglio took over 50% of the Turkish group Ayaydin, which produces and distributes the Ipekyol, Machka and Twist brands: in 2022 it rose to 73 million euros in turnover from 52 million in 2021.
For Racca, 2023 “started well and we hope to close it by exceeding the 2019 turnover levels, i.e. 550 million euros, but with a different company and better profitability, above 30 million EBITDA”. Among the focuses of the group, in addition to the storytelling of the brands, training: «Il reskilling – says Racca – it is very important for a group like ours which employs four thousand people. We need to invest in people’s skills». Which change and grow with the evolution of technology: «We are starting to use chatbots for internal assistance».